Commemorative Plaque to František Xaver Veselý in Rajnochovice

The memorial plaque of František Xaver Veselý (1819-1904), placed on his family house in Rajnochovice, commemorates the natural science research of this teacher who worked at the Piarist grammar school in Kroměříž. Veselý was scientifically active especially in the field of botany and mineralogy.

František Xaver Veselý was one of the most important naturalists who were involved in the Kroměříž region. Veselý taught history, natural science and physics at the Piarist grammar school in Kroměříž, but his main interests included botany and mineralogy. He has also published scientific papers in these fields. In 1855 Veselý`s essay Einiges über die Vegetationsverhältnisse aus der nächsten Umbegung der Stad Kremsier (A little about vegetation conditions in the immediate vicinity of Kroměříž) was published, in which he reflects his own systematic observation of 280 species of plants growing near Kroměříž, from the time of the awakening of vegetation from winter dormancy until the beginning of May. In this work he also proposes the establishment of a Kroměříž “botanical garden”. His second important work is a mineralogical treatise from 1874 Beiträge zur Benützung des Löthrohres beim Untersuchen und Bestimmen der Mineralkörper (Contributions to the use of blowpipe in mineral exploration and identification), in which he presented his experiments with 196 minerals. He divided them into eight groups according to the changes that could be traced when the blowing agent was used (e.g. melting, fusing or colour change). Veselý`s drawing and photographic skills were also remarkable. He introduced modern methods in his teaching, the aim of which was to awaken in his pupils a love of natural science. For example, in Rajnochovice, where František Xaver Veselý was born on 7 January 1819, his pupil from the Piarist grammar school, and also a botanist, František Gogela served as Catholic priest in 1897-1907. Veselý`s pupils also included biologist, zoologist and pharmacologist August Emil Vogl, theoretical physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach and geologist and palaeontologist Ferdinand Stolička. Among Veselý`s close friends was also a prominent botanist and evangelical priest working in Rusava, Daniel Sloboda. František Xaver Veselý died on 15 July 1904 in Kroměříž. His memorial plaque was unveiled in his native Rajnochovice on 15 September 1968.

Svátek, J.: Z dějin přírodovědeckých výzkumů v okrese Kroměříž. Zpravodaj muzea Kroměřížska. 1984/1, s. 23–24.

Vaňková, H.: Výročí významných přírodovědců kroměřížského regionu. Sborník Muzea Kroměřížska, 1999/II., s. 132–133.

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